An embodiment relates generally to obstacle detection.
Vision-imaging systems are used in vehicles for enhancing applications such as object detection systems and other vision/positioning systems. Such systems utilize a camera to capture the image and then extract objects from the image. Such objects may be other vehicles, pedestrians, or even objects within a road of travel.
Radar systems are also used to detect objects within the road of travel. Radar systems utilize radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. A transmitter transmits pulses of radio waves which bounce off any object in their path. The pulses reflected off the object returns a small part of the radio wave's energy to a receiver which is typically located at the same location as the transmitter.
Detecting objects by cooperatively utilizing vision-imaging systems and radar systems would add confidence as to the detection and position of an object in the path of travel of a vehicle. However, in known systems, detection is performed independently of the other sensors then the results are later combined. The problem is that if the detection and tracking results as determined from one tracking device differs significantly from the detection and tracking results from another device, then if the results were to be cooperatively utilized, there would be much uncertainty as which data would be the more correct data to utilize in identifying an obstacle.